Egg donation & egg sharing
In order to become an egg donor, you will need to fulfill certain criteria to establish your suitability.
Egg donation
Age limits - Egg donors should be aged between 18 and 35 years; women’s fertility begins to decline significantly from age 35 onwards. In exceptional circumstances a clinic may accept donors outside this age bracket.
Screening - Before you donate you will be required to undergo certain screening tests in order to reduce the risks of passing on diseases or deformities to any resultant child.
Consent - It is a legal requirement for written consent to be documented for the use of donated eggs in treatment.
You can change or withdraw your consent at any time up to the point at which your eggs are used in treatment.
Payment - Payment of donors is prohibited. You can however claim ‘reasonable expenses’ for travel and loss of earnings.
The amount you can claim will depend on the time your donation takes. Donors can claim up to £61.28 for each full day and up to a maximum of £250 per cycle of egg donation.
This maximum applies to loss of earnings – not the cost of the out-of-pocket expenses. This decision was a result of a consultation on sperm, eggs and embryo donation – the SEED review.
Egg sharing
Some clinics offer egg sharing programmes. Egg sharing involves a woman undertaking fertility treatment who donates some of her eggs to the clinic where she is receiving treatment. In return, the clinic can subsidise her treatment costs.
Since egg sharing involves donating some eggs for the use in the treatment of others, the rules regarding donation apply equally to egg sharers (see egg donation above).
Further information
Page last updated: 30 March 2009
Get an understanding of the HFEA's
Get monthly updates on HFEA news, policy and guidance sent to your inbox.